Dutrow looking forward to 2012 with exciting trio

by Brisnet.com

After taking a glance at their respective past performance lines,

Trickmeister, Boys at Tosconova and Redeemed are tough to separate on paper. For

trainer Rick Dutrow, the three horses with a big future in the 2012 handicap

ranks will be tougher to separate on the racetrack.

"I hate running my horses against each other; I hate doing that," Dutrow

said. "So, I'm going to do the best I can to separate them until I know we have

to do it."

Although Dutrow entered both Trickmeister and Boys at Tosconova in Saturday's

$60,000 Harlan's Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream, the former is expected to go it

alone in the 1 1/16-mile stakes. Boys at Tosconova, though, signaled his

readiness for a start with a sharp six-furlong workout on Wednesday morning.

Trickmeister, an undefeated son of Proud Citizen, has been a challenge for

his trainer due to some physical problems, particularly before and after his

most recent start, an 11 3/4-length romp in the Pleasant Colony Stakes at

Saratoga in 2010.

"His cannon bones were killing him," Dutrow explained. "We just couldn't make

it with him after his race at Saratoga, and we had so much trouble getting him

to that race. When he ran such a big race, it kind of took me by surprise

because he just wasn't training good.

"We took care of the cannon bone things. We gave him plenty of time. He came

back and was training good, but then he cracked his tibia. So we had to regroup

with that. Since we brought him back, he's been training good. He's a different

horse now."

Trickmeister has had three sharp workouts at Gulfstream in preparation for

the Harlan's Holiday.

"Since he's come back this time he's been training real good. He's come back

better," Dutrow said. "When we got him, we were struggling to keep up with him.

Now we're not struggling."

The Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park on February 11 is the goal for

Trickmeister. As much as he hates to run more than one of his horses in the same

race, Dutrow may well be double represented in the Donn with Trickmeister and

Redeemed.

"If they show us they belong, we're going to run them in there," he said.

After finishing a distant third in his debut at Belmont Park in the fall of

2010, Redeemed has been first or second in all seven starts at six racetracks.

"Every time that horse has run, we've come out of his race with a smile --

every time he has run," Dutrow said. "He's kind of a stupid guy. After his first

race, knowing his mental position, we loved the way he ran his first start. He's

run on every track and has shown up. We are very excited about him. Who knows

how good he can be? He doesn't need to take his track with him."

Dutrow is still uncertain how he will bring the Include sophomore, who

captured the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap on November 19, into the Donn.

"I'm kind of looking for the right timing going into the Donn with him," the

conditioner explained. "The race Saturday (Harlan's Holiday) is too far away

from the Donn for him. The race next month (Grade 3 Hal's Hope on January 14) is

too close to the Donn for him. Even if I run him straight into the Donn off the

break, it might be a good move. I don't know, but my goal is the Donn for him."

Boys at Tosconova, who breezed six furlongs in 1:14 3/5 Wednesday, isn't

being pointed to the Donn, but Dutrow has high expectations for the Grade

1-winning Officer colt.

"We just breezed him and he did super again," Dutrow said. "I can't tell you

that the goal for him is the Donn, but the goal is to try and win another Grade

1 with him in the next few starts. Not the next start, but if he shows up the

way we want him to and the way he's been training, then I think we can start

pointing him to bigger races."

The three-year-old, who was taken out of training last year due to ankle

issues, returned from a long layoff at Belmont on October 8 to finish third in

an optional claimer, then captured his last start at Aqueduct by 2 1/2 lengths

on November 11.

"I thought he was struggling with the track," Dutrow said. "The times were

very slow. I think he prefers a fast time. That's why we brought him down here,

as opposed to the inner track at Aqueduct. I know he got the job done the right

way, but I believe he was struggling with the track that day. He's a good one;

he's a good horse. Hopefully, next time he really shows that he's back to his

old form. Since he's come off the bench, I don't think he's actually shown it.

His next race is big for us."